Author: Xavier Kataquapit

In a world that is so upside down these days we really need to count on our leadership and Elders to stand up for us, for mother earth and to make sure that there is a world in place for future generations. When I first started out writing and faced with interviewing government representatives like Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament, local, regional, provincial and national Chiefs, council members, Mayors, bureaucrats and business corporate executives I was intimidated. I recall my partner and mentor Mike an experienced journalist enlightening me that all these people were just ordinary folk like everyone else. As he commented “they all go to the toilet just like every human being”. I thought this was so funny but also it really did remind me that I had no reason to feel intimidated by anyone just because they held a position in government or had some form of power. That little trick gave me confidence.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/mother-earth-our-side

One of the last hunting trips I took with my father Marius Kataquapit was out onto our traditional lands next to the opening of the Attawapiskat River on the James Bay coast. Dad had injured his foot that winter and although he had a cast on, he insisted on heading out for Niska Tah-mah-nah-oon, (the goose hunt) with myself and my two younger brothers Joseph and Paul. To my dad, it was an easy and short trip as the ride was only an hour snowmobile ride away.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/niska-tah-mah-nah-oon-goose-hunt

I think all of us northerners are fed up with this long and dismal winter. The misery is made because so many people in my life have passed away this winter over the past month. It does not feel like spring.

I have lost my cousin Norman Kataquapit, a kind and gentle man I grew up with. I know his brothers Robert, Billy, Steve, Ron, Eric and Lindy and their families and friends will always hold the memory of Norman in their hearts. It’s especially sad as our families have only recently recovered after losing their brother Jeffery just over a year ago.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/it-time-healing

The historic Hudson Bay Company has been diminished and the company is on its way to becoming lost to the history books. Starting this past month in March 2025, the company filed for creditor protection which forced it to liquidate all of its stores across the country except for six key flagship stores in major cities including the historic flagship location on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.

As an Indigenous person, who grew up in the shadow of this all consuming company in my home community of Attawapiskat, I am happy to see it disappear from the landscape.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/goodbye-hudson-bay-company

grew up on the James Bay coast and from an young age I learned early on that we were more or less on our own when it came to medical emergencies. We had limited health care on the James Bay coast as was the case with most remote Indigenous communities across Canada. Most have never had a full time on site doctor and if any serious health matter arose, people had to be airlifted from Attawapiskat to Moosonee, Timmins or Kingston on emergency flights. The health care system has been striving to deal with cutbacks, all kinds of shortages in doctors and nurses and health care practitioners for years and it is getting worse rather than better as time goes on.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/our-health-care-professionals-are-precious

Winter flu season is causing all kinds of sickness and notably for our senior citizens and those with compromised immune systems. This past couple of weeks have been so hard as two of my favourite Elders have passed, John Mercier of Timmins and Ignace Koostachin from my home community in Attawapiskat. They will always have a place in my heart and memories, and they were known and well respected far and wide.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.windspeaker.com/under-northern-sky-xavier-kataquapit/i-will-try-do-better

Attawapiskat First Nation is my home community and it was where I was born and raised with my family. When I think about where I grew up, I feel like I came from some different country or part of the world that is not part of Canada at all. It was so different to everything I later learned about that was outside my home community.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/where-i-come-%E2%80%93-omushkegowuk-aski

My father Marius Kataquapit, a hunter, trapper and traditional person from the remote Attawapiskat First Nation could understand the English language but seldom spoke it yet every night he tuned into the late night CBC news and he encouraged me to also. He was curious about everything and he believed it was important to have an awareness of what was going on in the world even though the news was often filled with war and tragic events. He made me aware that other outside forces had control of our lives.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/eighty-nine-seconds-and-counting

When I first met my partner Mike’s mom Emily McGrath so many years ago I was immediately struck by how open and kind she was. Everyone knew her as Emmy and she reminded me so much of all the Elders I had grow up with in my family. I was a soft spoken Cree from the James Bay coast when I first got to know her. Life was intimidating for me when I first started to live and work as a writer away from my home community but Emmy made sure I was always safe, comfortable and looked after. I owe a lot of my transition to a new life to her.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/emmy%E2%80%99s-chocolate-cake-therapy

Here we are in a new year and hoping that 2025 will be a positive experience for all of us as individuals and for our civilization on planet earth. If I did a full review of how things went over the past year it just might be a little depressing but it is good to face reality.

…. to read the full column, please click on the link below

https://wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/welcome-2025